Fun Times & Not So Fun Times..

On Saturday, August 22 I celebrated my 33rd birthday :) Jim, Kyle & Bella surprised me with a new digital camera, yahoo!! Our old camera was not working properly anymore & everyone knows how much I LOVE to take pictures so I was THRILLED with my new gift! I had a great birthday just hanging out with my husband & children :) I enjoyed some homemade strawberry daquiri's & basically relaxed (as much as possible..) all day! Kyle & I went swimming in our pool & later, after the kids had gone to sleep, Jim & I watched the movie "The Unborn" - I LOVE a good horror flick & this one did not disappoint! I must've jumped out of my skin at least 5 times! Needless to say, it was a GREAT movie & an awesome way to end the day!
Some Fun Times: Kyle & I played "Connect Four" this afternoon. He's gotten quite good at the game..!


It was very warm out today, but gorgeous in the shade! Jim, Kyle & I worked hard in the yard but made sure to take lots of breaks inbetween so that we could actually ENJOY the day :)

It was actually so nice in the shade that we were able to take Isabella out for a while. She's been stuck indoors for SO long, it was great for her to finally get some fresh air!

See all that wood behind Kyle? That's the "old" wood from the house. Jim cut it all up into "fire pit size" pieces. Kyle then loaded the pieces into his trailer, attached to his Powerwheels Jeep, & helped stack it. Quite a big job for such a little boy, but he did a great job :)

Bella tried to wake up, but only lasted for about 5 minutes before zonking out for the rest of the afternoon!!

Jim has finished the vinyl siding on the house!! I really love how it came out!

You'd never know that the addition was JUST built a few months ago!

Just a random picture of Jim enjoying a cup of coffee before heading out to the yard to do clean up work!

Kyle still loves building things with Lego's..they keep him occupied for hours! He's gotten quite creative with them too & can build several different style cars/trucks on his own now!

Some Not So Fun Times: At 3 weeks old Isabella has already had far too many "bad hair days"! In the picture below she is sporting her "fro". Usually her hair spikes straight up, resembling a dinosaur. I've tried to tame it with barretts, bows & various head bands but her hair is so silky that everything just slides right out! I can get a head band to stay in, but really, it is ridiculous looking because her hair spikes up behind it!! In other "Not So Fun Times" she has developed her "witching hour" which is MUCH longer than an hour...she tends to get super fussy between 4p-5p & usually doesn't settle down much before 10p. It's VERY difficult to deal with, to say the least. I think I've lost 10 lbs just pacing around the house with her!! Feeding, changing, rocking, pacing - nothing works for long. Eventually she simply exhausts herself & goes to sleep. I'm pretty sure that this is only a phase, one that hopefully won't continue for much longer. I hate seeing her get so upset, over what appears to be NOTHING. It's also very difficult for me to get Kyle situated for HIS bedtime. There are times when I actually have to stand up & bounce with the baby WHILE I'm reading Kyle his bedtime stories. Fortunately Kyle seems to understand that there are some things we can't control. Such as..the witching hour(s)!! Last night he said to me "Mama, I thought you said that all babies do is eat & sleep. Why does ours cry all the time?" hahaha! Thankfully she really doesn't cry all the time!!

There are still few similarities between brother & sister, however we noticed recently that Isabella shares the same cute dimples as Kyle! I can't wait for her to start smiling "on command" so I can show you all how darn cute her smile & dimples are!

Going from 1 child to 2 has been quite a challenge but we're really enjoying every minute of it! Kyle seems to have matured overnight. He does get jealous from time to time (can't blame him one bit!) but overall he is a big help & genuinly loves his little sister.

Having a newborn around again is quite simply amazing. I still find myself staring at her in amazement that she's actually HERE! Already I can't imagine our life without her. I'm cherishing every second of every day even MORE now, taking in all of the good with the bad for no matter what the good always outweighs the bad :) If you don't know what I mean come on over & hold our little Bella Bug - feel her snuggle up against your chest & wrap her hand around your finger. Instantly you fall in love, over & over again!